Eagles Rally by Keeping It Simple in the Snow

DeSean Jackson returning a punt against Detroit in the fourth quarter at Philadelphia, where the Eagles won their fifth straight game.Credit
Jeffrey G. Pittenger/USA TODAY Sports , via Reuters

PHILADELPHIA — When a driving snow arrived a couple of hours earlier than predicted and continued throughout the opening half, the Philadelphia Eagles knew their best-laid plans had to be changed.

Coach Chip Kelly shortened his list of offensive plays while determining that he could not use the kicking game for field goals or extra points. Quarterback Nick Foles, effective in the shotgun as the N.F.C.’s offensive player of the month in November, moved under center. And LeSean McCoy acted like a child romping in his backyard as he abandoned his usual array of wide runs to make one breathtaking dash after another between the tackles and through the snow.

McCoy carried 29 times for a team-record 217 yards and 2 touchdowns — on jaunts of 40 and 57 yards as part of a 28-point fourth quarter — and the Eagles rallied to beat the Detroit Lions, 34-20, for their fifth consecutive victory.

Philadelphia was held to 90 net yards and trailed by 8-0 at halftime before it got on track. McCoy rushed 16 times for 166 yards in the second half in eclipsing the franchise single-game rushing record, which had stood since Nov. 27, 1949, when Steve Van Buren, a Hall of Fame back, amassed 205 yards against Pittsburgh.

According to McCoy, the move away from lateral runs was not difficult. “I like to run between the tackles; you can see your holes,” he said. “The guys up front gave me so much room to work. Tremendous credit goes to those guys.”

Detroit, anchored defensively by tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, began the afternoon ranked third in the N.F.L. in allowing only 82.7 rushing yards a game. But Philadelphia center Jason Kelce, flanked by right guard Todd Herremans and left guard Evan Mathis, consistently allowed McCoy to break through the line of scrimmage cleanly. McCoy somehow dashed and darted and showed how much he could make of those openings, no matter how unsure the footing.

“Sometimes, I couldn’t really plant,” McCoy said. “I can usually plant on a dime. But it all worked out.”

Philadelphia improved to 8-5, 6-2 since Foles took over at quarterback, and at least briefly nudged ahead in the N.F.C. East. Dallas (7-5) will visit Chicago (6-6) on Monday night. Philadelphia travels to Dallas on Dec. 29 for the teams’ regular-season finale.

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Detroit, an unsteady N.F.C. North leader at 7-6, wasted a 58-yard punt return for a score by Jeremy Ross in the third quarter and a 98-yard kick return by Ross for a 20-14 lead with 14 minutes 20 seconds left in the fourth. David Akers, in the lone kicking attempt at a conversion, had his low boot blocked.

Foles had thrown 19 touchdowns without being intercepted before Sunday, one touchdown shy of the record set this season by Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos. His bid to tie Manning fell short when the conditions got the best of him. A slick ball contributed to an overthrow that Lions cornerback Chris Houston intercepted and returned 30 yards to Philadelphia’s 20 early in the second quarter. That positioned the Lions for the only score of the opening half. Five plays later, Joique Bell banged in from 2 yards out.

Foles shook it off, and so did his resilient teammates. “I know a lot of hype has been made about the touchdown-to-interception ratio,” said Foles, in his second season. “I don’t even worry about it. I worry about wins.”

Foles hit half his 22 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, a 19-yard toss to DeSean Jackson that brought the Eagles back from a 14-0 deficit with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Foles misfired in attempting a 2-point conversion.

The Lions’ Matthew Stafford connected on 10 of 25 throws for 148 yards. Despite improving conditions in the second half, his top receiver, Calvin Johnson (three catches, 49 yards), was largely taken away by the wind and snow.

For Philadelphia, it was a frigid afternoon to savor. “From the start of the game to the end, it was crazy,” Jackson said.

A version of this article appears in print on December 9, 2013, on Page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Eagles Rally by Keeping It Simple in Snow. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe